Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Clashes resumed between security
forces and residents in Azerbaijan’s northwestern Ismayilli
district as riots entered a second day in the oil-rich former
Soviet republic.

Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons to
protect the local governor’s office from a group of attackers,
the Azeri service of Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty said today.

The clashes were sparked by an incident yesterday between
an employee of the Ciraq hotel and a group of Ismayilli
residents, the Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s
Office said today in an e-mailed statement. The employee caused
a traffic accident while allegedly drunk, beating a local man
and shouting insults at Ismayilli residents, according to the
statement.

In retaliation, residents burned the hotel and cars parked
outside, with police preventing their attempt to torch a house
owned by the son of the local governor, Nizami Alakbarov,
according to the statement. Four people, including three police
officers, were injured. The hotel employee and another man
involved in the incident were arrested, the authorities said.

Thousands Riot

As many as 3,000 people took part in the rioting, the APA
news service said, citing local police. The main opposition
newspaper Yeni Musavat said the traffic accident was caused by a
son of Labor and Social Protection Minister Fizuli Alakbarov.
The local governor is the minister’s brother, and the hotel was
run by the Alakbarov family, according to Musavat.

The governor denied that his nephew played a role in
sparking the events, Media Forum news website reported. Nizami
Alakbarov said the incident involved several people, including
the hotel’s manager, before “some unhealthy forces” led the
protesters toward his house, according to Media Forum.

The residents are demanding the governor’s resignation,
Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty said.

Ismayilli is about 200 kilometers (124 miles) northwest of
the capital, Baku, near the Russian border. It’s the second time
in less than a year that Azeris rioted against local
authorities. Similar protests in the northern Quba District last
March resulted in the dismissal of the local governor.